European Bank for Reconstruction and Development (EBRD) Tendedrs

The European Bank for Reconstruction and Development (EBRD) is the first international financial institution of the post Cold War period. It was established in 1991 in response to major changes in the political and economic climate in central and eastern Europe. Inaugurated less than two years after the fall of the Berlin Wall, the Bank was created to support the development of market economies in the region following the widespread collapse of communist regimes.

The idea of the European Bank, put forward by President François Mitterrand of France at the European Parliament in Strasbourg on 25 October 1989, came to fruition on 29 May 1990 with the signature of its agreement by 40 countries, the Commission of the European Communities and the European Investment Bank.

With Headquarters in London, the EBRD began operations in April 1991.

The EBRD is the world’s only transition bank.

Today it works in 29 countries from central Europe to central Asia financing projects, primarily in the private sector, that serve the transition to market economies and pluralistic democratic societies.

In its capacity as a development bank, the EBRD seeks to finance operations that are both commercially viable and assist development, including in the environmental field.

The Bank serves the interests of all its members, not just those which will benefit from financing, because the integration of central and eastern Europe into Europe and into the global market provides new opportunities for trade and investment in all parts of the world.